The motivation to learn of African American high school students was examined by asking them about their favorite and least favorite classes. Two hundred and seventy-five students attending three urban high schools were randomly selected from their history classes to respond to a questionnaire on their perceptions of ability, goals, and reasons…

This book explores parental participation in the public schools as an opportunity for personal growth and empowerment and as a source of support for educational goals and needed resources. The first chapter explores developmental, psychological, and sociological theories that deal with human potential and how this is related to participation,…

Examines problems faced by immigrant students in the New York City public schools. Insight is provided into these educational problems through interviews with 20 students, 9 teachers, and 1 administrator in 2 city public high schools. Data suggest that students' desire to learn is not well supported by available resources. (SLD)

Argues that rigorous, detailed academic standards are driving school improvement efforts instead of student needs as voiced by the students themselves. Offers support, through student interviews, for the notion that a challenging, integrative, and exploratory curriculum should be the standard for developmentally responsive practice and that this…

Examines perceptions of economically disadvantaged youth toward their futures and toward their mentors in a mentoring program. Findings for 27 10th graders demonstrate that those who view mentors as role models outperform their peers. Role modeling makes a difference in student achievement motivation. (SLD)

Describes the Family Focus for School Success Project, a model program that provides education and support to language minority families in poverty and their children through comprehensive early intervention for children at risk of academic failure because of their home environments. An evaluation of the first year's efforts with 69 families…

Interviewed 38 inner-city Black and Latino adolescents in a precollege tutorial program. Findings show students' difficulties in leaving their old peer groups and embracing the idea that they could achieve in school. Addresses implications of the findings for policy, assets, and problems. (SLD)

This article examines family, friend, and media influences on competent and problem behaviors in a sample of 1,174 urban minority youth followed over 6th, 7th, and 8th grades. Students completed annual surveys at their schools. Each of the contextual factors investigated was significantly associated with concurrent aggression and delinquency as…

In response to the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act and its amendments, most urban schools have created special programs for homeless students to help them succeed academically and to offer them access to social services and a safe and stress-free environment. Recruitment, enrollment, and service coordination policies are adapted to the…

The history of Thomas Jefferson High School, Richmond (Virginia), is traced from its opening in 1930 through the city's social changes. The school developed a culture of academic excellence that it struggled to defend against decades of challenges such as desegregation, white flight, leadership changes, and budget cuts. The history of the school…

This book has been designed to provide teachers of kindergarten through grade 12 with techniques and approaches for helping their African American students achieve in school. It presents a planned approach to four major initiatives: (1) to restructure the instruction and behaviors practiced in most classrooms today; (2) to provide teachers with…

This paper highlights three models for implementing local restructuring of schools: James Comer's School Development Program; Robert Slavin's Success for All; and Henry Levin's Accelerated Schools. These models have been among the more popular models for restructuring schools in poor, predominantly minority neighborhoods with traditionally…

This document provides a compilation of information presented at the "Cause for Applause" conference sponsored by the Urban Education Network of the North Central Regional Educational Laboratory (NCREL) and the Chicago (Illinois) public schools. The first section, "Strategies for Urban School Improvement," describes programs…

Changes in student perceptions over the first year of high school and the interrelations of student and student-reported mother, father, and teacher perceptions form the basis of this study. Self- and task-perceptions as well as utility judgments are measured in two subject domains, mathematics and English, since the transition to high school has…

Catholic schools have had astonishing success in working with inner-city children. Recent research has confirmed that the performance of students in Catholic schools surpasses that of urban public school students, usually at lower cost. A recent survey also indicated that 83% of public school parents and 82% of inner-city poor parents want…